Jason F. McLennan and his team have done a wonderful thing in giving us the language and rules to move beyond LEED[6]. Industry spokespeople will call this ‘idoitic’, ‘unreasonable’ and ‘impossible’. Don’t be scared industry spokespeople – change happens, we move forward, let’s do it together. Remember when you said the same things about LEED, which is now mandated in cities and counties all over the world?

One of the most important features of LBC is that it measures the actual performance of buildings. Basically this means that a year after a building was built, measurements are taken to ensure that it is, in fact, net zero in terms of energy and water, etc. This is a big distinction from existing requirements like LEED[8] and CA’s Title 24[9] which measure performance models and do not hold projects accountable to live up to those models.

This is also the first standard to address social justice and equity issues. In their own words: “The intent of the Equity Petal is to correlate the impacts of design and development to its ability to foster a true sense of community. A society that embraces all sectors of humanity and allows the dignity of equal access is a civilization in the best position to make decisions that protect and restore the natural environment.”

“The simple concept of green buildings has generally produced more efficient buildings and smaller footprints. But that is no longer enough,” says McLennan. “With version 2.0 addressing issues of food, transportation and social justice, we expect a considerable leap forward will happen once again.”

We are interested to hear what you think about this new standard – sound off in the comments!